Place the first 7 ingredients into a blender, blend until smooth and season with salt and pepper. Toss the remaining ingredients together, season with salt and pepper then refrigerate until service. Top each serving of soup with the chopped vegetable garnish.

Pre heat the oven to 325 F. Heat a large oven safe pot or Dutch oven over medium heat; then add the oil to the pot. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper; place the chicken in the pot then brown on all sides. Add the next 8 ingredients to the pot, then cover and cook in the oven at 325 F for 90 minutes.

Remove the pot from the oven and carefully remove the lid. Remove the chicken from the pot, place on a baking sheet and let cool for 20 minutes. Place the pot on the stovetop and simmer on low heat. To thicken the stock, place the flour into a large bowl and whisk in 2 cups of the chicken stock until smooth. Slowly whisk this mixture back into the pot and continue to simmer.

Carefully separate the chicken meat from the bones and fat then stir it back into the pot. Season the stew with salt, pepper and thyme.

1 C Milk

1 tbsp. Vinegar

2 C Flour

¼ tsp. Baking Soda

1 tbsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Salt

6 tbsp. Butter, melted

Mix the milk and vinegar in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes to create the buttermilk. Place the flour, soda, powder and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in the butter and buttermilk until a very thick dough has formed.

Place 1/3 cup, scoops of the batter, about 10-12 onto the top of the chicken stew. Make sure to leave some room in between the dumplings so they cook properly. Place the lid on the top of the pot and simmer on low heat for 13-15 minutes or until the dumplings have cooked through.

Place a large pot over medium heat. Add the oil to the pan, when it smokes, add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove the bacon then add the onion and cook until the soft. Add the bacon, peas, stock and bay leaf then simmer on low heat, covered for 30 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, pepper and Tabasco to taste. Cook for another 10 minutes and then garnish with herbs.

Take the skin off of the chicken and throw away. Remove all of the meat from the chicken, saving the meat, bones and juices.

Place a large 6 quart pot over medium heat. Add the oil to the pot and when it smokes add the onion, celery and carrot. Toss the vegetable until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the frozen veggies, chicken meat, bones, juices, stock and water to the pot and simmer, covered on low heat for 45 minutes.

Carefully remove the lid from the pot and skim off any foam or fat (impurities) that float to the top. Now carefully remove the bones from the pot with a long set of tongs. Season the soup with the sugar, salt, pepper and herbs to taste. Add the pasta to the soup and simmer for 10 minutes. Skim off anymore gunk that rises to the top while cooking.

Pressure cookers use high pressure to cook foods faster and more efficiently than other cooking methods and are a great tool to have in the house.

This is how they work. There is a large pot, about 8 quarts, with a lid that locks into place. You add ingredients and a flavored liquid like stock, wine or juice into the pot and start to heat it up. When the liquid in the pot starts to boil, the pressure builds up to 15 psi (pounds per square inch). This causes the liquid to boil at 250 F instead of 212 F. You also have high pressure locked in the pot, forcing the heat and flavor into the food instead of boiling away. With higher temps and pressure your food cooks faster and with more flavor.

1. Quick Cooking – Using high pressure and hotter liquids you can cook meat dishes (beef stew, chili, ribs, pork carnitas, roasts and chickens) and grains and dried beans (wheat berries, chickpeas, navy and black beans) in a fraction of the time. This can reduce cooking times for things like a whole chicken from over and hour to just about 20 minutes.

2. Great Value and Space Saver– Pressure cookers cost between $50 and $100 based on the materials they are made from, generally aluminum or stainless steel. Given the cost, a pressure cooker can take the place of many kitchen tools like a large soup pots, steamers and rice cooker.

3. Safety – Pressure cookers have gotten a bad reputation over the years for safety issues. Apparently back in the day pressure cookers did not fully lock into place. This would cause bad blowouts resulting in huge messes and bad burns. Todays pressure cookers have simple safety features and locking mechanisms that ensure you can cook safely and easily.

Check out this video link below for a great way to cook a chicken in your pressure cooker.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Place the beef in the pan and cook unitl brown. Season with half of the salt and pepper. Add the onions and mushrooms, then sauté for 10 minutes, stirring often. Mix in the flour and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the beef broth, bring to a simmer then stir in the pasta. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 5-7 minutes. When the pasta is still firm but almost cooked through, add the sour cream, worcestershire sauce and nutmeg, then cook for five minutes over low heat. Simmer on low heat until the sauce has thickened then season with fresh tarragon and the rest of the salt and pepper to taste.

Place a large pot over medium heat. Add the butter to the pot, let the butter melt, then add the onion, celery, carrot and corn. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the stock until the mixture is smooth. Add the potatoes and the half and half to the pot and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Skim off any foam that floats to the top. Season the soup with the salt, pepper, chili flakes and lemon juice then let simmer for 5 minutes before service. Garnish with sliced green onions.

If you want to mix it up, you can add chopped chicken, shrimp, crab, fish, bacon and any kind of fresh, canned or frozen vegetables to this soup.

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the bacon to the pan, brown the bacon and then remove. Add the leeks or onions, celery and carrot to the pot and sweat over low heat. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add the stock, beans and bay leaf then simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Add the asparagus and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Adjust the flavor by stirring in the sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh herbs and crispy bacon.

Warm up this winter with a smoking' hot bowl of hearty and healthy stew. This recipe is very easy to prepare using flavors from bottled salsa verde and taco seasoning. Salsa verde is a mexican sauce that is made from green tomatoes aka tomatillos, green bell peppers, onions, cilantro and jalapeños. Add some prepared chicken stock, pre-cooked chicken, canned beans and taco seasoning and you have a hearty meal that the whole family will love.

You can add anything you like to this stew and it will turn out great. I like to add ingredients like zucchini, greens, bell peppers, potatoes and sweet potatoes, tomato, black beans, green beans, broccoli and cauliflower.

Now Get Crackin'! Chef Egg

Green Salsa, Chicken and Bean Stew

1 qt. Vegetable or Chicken Stock, no salt version

1 C Green Salsa aka Salsa Verde

8 oz. Chicken, chopped or shredded

1 can White Beans, drained, no salt version

2 tbsp. Taco Seasoning or 1 tbsp. Cumin

1 Lime, Juiced

Place all of the ingredients into a medium saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and season with a little salt and pepper.

Check out this simple recipe for black bean soup. It is the perfect side to a Mexican dinner and will warm you up on a cold winters day!

I like to use no salt versions of the stock and beans to make room for the salt in the taco seasoning. If you are going to use salted version of the stock and beans, opt for simple cumin for your seasoning.

Black Bean Soup
Makes 6-8 Servings

1 qt. Prepared Vegetable or Chicken Stock, no salt version

2 cans Canned Black Beans, no salt version

¾ C Salsa

3 tbsp. Taco Seasoning or 1 tbsp. Cumin

1 Lime, Juiced

Place at the first 4 ingredients into a medium pot and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Use a hand blender to carefully blend the soup until smooth. If you do not have a hand blender, smash the beans with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Stir in the lime juice and add your favorite toppings.